Cinderella Style
by Hell's Angel 606
Summary: RyomaxJirou   Ryoma didn't seem that bad, and Jirou makes a good Prince Charming. One-shot!


I don't own Prince of Tennis in anyway!

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Ryoma sighed as she lay in bed, which was covered in silver and black silk sheets. She looked to her left and saw her husband of one day still sleeping. She smiled softly as she ran her hand through his hair consistently. He stirred but she hadn't cared much at that point.

_Her parents were caught by death's hands in the form of natural causes. Of course, they did not die together as they had wished to. Her mother had died while giving birth to her. As much as her father wished to go along with her, he couldn't. He had to take care of his infant baby girl. He had decided to name her Ryoma, which is what his past wife would have wanted. _

_He soon re-married a few months after Ryoma had turned twelve years of age. Ryoma hadn't seemed to mind, but soon her father fell ill. Ryoma was praying at his bedside when he passed away. His wife, however, didn't really care about her husband passing away. She only married him for money, anyway. _

Ryoma sighed as she thought of the day her stepmother made her the slave.

_Flashback:_

_Her stepmother walked down the stairs in a fancy dress, which meant she was going to the village to shop for herself and her two sons. _

"_Ryoma, I want this house to be cleaned completely by the time I get back. After all, you are the servant. You didn't actually expect me to treat you as my own, did you?" Her stepmother barked at her._

_End Flashback._

_Ryoma was forced to clean the house and tend to Kunimitsu's, Syuusuke's and her stepmother's every whim from that day forth. She had been doing that till the age of nineteen years._

_A few months after her nineteenth birthday, she heard someone at the door. When she had answered, there were messengers with invitations for the prince's ball. Since no one else had been in the house at the time being, she accepted in the place of her step-family. When her stepmother came home that day, she was so angry at her for accepting. Her stepmother hadn't wanted to go there because of the embarrassment the royal family caused her. But now, her stepmother was forced. _

_When the boys came home from wherever they went, they had mixed feelings about it, though one would never know what Syuusuke thought. Kunimitsu hadn't minded at all, but he wouldn't ever let his mother know that. _

Ryoma pulled her hand away from her husband's head, or at tried to as her hand was firmly locked in place by his. She giggled softly as he brought her hand down to his face and kissed it. A blush spread like wildfire across her face. He looked up and smirked at her, a wicked look coming into his eyes. That was when Ryoma thought of the time when she had first met the prince.

_She had met the prince at his ball, which had been for his twenty-first birthday. He had a circle of friends around him. He had that same look in his eye when he had first saw her, except his jaw dropped at that time. Ryoma had worn a simple midnight blue dress that touched the ground. It wasn't a ball gown but a dress that hugged all of her curves gently. Her waist length hair had been tied with a black ribbon around her head. _

_Her fairy godfather had given her this dress and sent her off the ball immediately. Her fairy godfather had wavy violet hair and a feminine build with features to match, and really could have been mistaken for a woman. He found her crying in the garden because she wasn't able to go the ball as she wanted to. She had nothing to go with and her stepmother had given her a list of impossible chores to complete, which she did in the time where she was supposed to be at the ball._

She was brought back to the present by something that was tickling her hand. She looked at her husband to see that he was the one who had been doing that to her. She reacted quite violently and tried her best but all she had managed to do was kick him and that in turn made him roll over onto her, successfully pinning her beneath him.

"Will you stop?" Ryoma shrieked with laughter. She couldn't help the tears that rolled down from her eyes of the actions he was causing.

"Not any time soon, Ryoma." He replied, her name rolling off his tongue. Ryoma finally put all of her efforts into escaping from the weight pulling her down, and her husband decided to reward her efforts by letting her go.

When she tried to get away from him however, that was a different story. He grabbed her around her waist and pulled her back to him.

"You were the one who decided to wake me up, so now you have to deal with me." He whispered into her ear. She sighed as she though back to when he was actually being a gentleman.

_The prince had excused himself from his group and walked over to her, quite gracefully crossing the ballroom. Ryoma had tried to get the attention off of her but nothing seemed to work. When she turned around, the prince was standing right behind her. He grabbed her hand and slowly brought it to his lips. Ryoma's blush made her look even cuter in his eyes. _

_When he asked for a dance, she shyly agreed, silently wondering what happened to her. She was a blunt, rude, and sarcastic girl, but now she felt as if she had been turned into a teenager again. She then looked up and saw the face of her partner. He had a gleam in his eye, one that Ryoma usually had once she was up to destroying something that belonged to her stepfamily. _

Ryoma looked at her husband who was staring at her all the time. He smirked, which caused Ryoma to turn away, her face heating up quite quickly.

"Ryoma, look at me." He said, nudging her side with his elbow. Ryoma shook her head, smile lighting up her face.

He smirked, letting her take the battle, but the war has yet to be won. 'What could I possibly do to get her attention back?' He thought to himself. Then he got an idea.

He removed his arms from around her waist and allowed her to move away from him. The cool morning breeze made her shiver, something the prince found amusing. He then quickly turned her so that she was facing him. Ryoma turned her head away from him as much as she could.

Sadly, it wasn't enough.

The prince moved above her and pressed his lips to hers. It didn't take much to make her open her mouth and he immediately took advantage of that, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Ryoma's eyes widened, and less than a few seconds later, she relaxed against him, letting him take control of her. He broke to let them breathe but then captured her lips in another kiss…

This reminded Ryoma of her first kiss with her husband, which was obviously stolen from her during their dance at the ball.

_She was easily following the steps the prince had lead, much to his surprise as it had taken him a week to master the dance and she was younger than him! The prince took this as a challenge and decided to complicate things a bit; making Ryoma a bit confused with what steps she was supposed to take. She wasn't going to let him take the lead, no matter what type of blood he had in his veins! Ryoma followed the steps but then changed it into something she knew, making the prince stumble, though it was only noticed by his group and Ryoma._

_Neither the prince nor Ryoma had known that all of the guests were watching them. The men were hungrily looking at Ryoma, and the women were completely jealous of her; she was dancing with the prince of all people! _

_Ryoma was winning at one point but then the prince took over completely, having been tired of trying to follow the young maiden's steps. He stepped to a rhythm unknown to her, which made her scowl. What she didn't know was that the man she was dancing with had been looking at her the entire time and could see each and every one of her emotions in her golden orbs. When the clock had first struck midnight, the girl hadn't worried about it much, but then she remembered that her stepmother was to be home by midnight. Ryoma had tried to escape the princes arms, but he kept her in place. _

"_Where are you going exactly?" He questioned her, curious by the fleeting emotions across her face. She was still struggling, so the prince decided to let her go, only after pecking her on her lips. It was such a soft feeling that Ryoma almost didn't notice it until she saw how close the prince was. _

_Without a second thought, Ryoma ran, leaving behind a smirking prince and her black ribbon that seemed to be made to tie in a very special way, only known by the girl considering the way it was in her hair. He sighed as he picked up the ribbon and made his way back to his group. Ignoring them, the prince sent out the orders to find the owner of the black ribbon, and that he would accompany them in the search for the missing maiden._

_Ryoma ran back home not bothering with the missing carriage, as her fairy godfather had warned her that the carriage was to disappear at midnight, but her clothes and accessories would stay the same. She barely made it back home in time for her stepmother but she managed and had appeared in her normal, everyday clothes when they returned. The two brothers didn't pay much attention to her and marched up the stairs. Her stepmother had looked at her with a cruel smile._

"_How did you enjoy your night here, Ryoma?" She questioned, the thought alone bringing satisfaction. Ryoma didn't respond but had taken her stepmother's coat and hanged it up neatly. After that, she went to her small room in the attic. She crawled into her makeshift bed and closed her eyes, thinking over the events while falling into a blissful slumber. _

_Later on in the day, after six hours of sleep, Ryoma got out of bed, and prepared everything. What she hadn't known was that the prince had been searching for her, and that her house was next on the list. When someone knocked on the door, Ryoma got up from where she was sitting because she had finished all of her chores, she was surprised to see two royal guards and the prince right behind them. Wordlessly, Ryoma stepped aside and let them inside. _

"_Are you the only young maiden of this household?" Questioned one of the guards, looking around the house for anyone else in the house. She nodded her head, staring at them curiously. _

"_We would appreciate it if you would try this on; tie it in any way you please." The other guard said, smiling at the petite woman in front of him. Ryoma sighed and took the black ribbon from them and tied it in her hair the way she had it the night of the ball. _

_The guards looked at the prince, only to see him smirking. Then the guards looked at each other and let out a relieved sigh. They found their prince's bride, even though they had told no one this._

_All of a sudden, there was movement from upstairs. Which had meant either two things; that the brothers were up, or that her stepmother was on her way down. When it turned out to be her stepmother coming down the stairs, Ryoma had the look of a frightened child on her face. She didn't like to be yelled at, and her stepmother knew that very well. _

"_What could possibly be going on here, Ryoma?" Asked her stepmother, glaring at the three unwanted guests who disturbed her from getting the sleep she very much desired. Ryoma turned to look at her stepmother, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs with an expressionless face. _

"_Well…" Ryoma stuttered, searching for the right words to satisfy her stepmother. The prince saw this and cut in, rudely, but at that moment Ryoma didn't really care if it was done charmingly or disgracefully. _

"_I have found the one I had been dancing with at the ball and I plan to make her my bride. If you have any complaints with this, I don't really care considering she is of proper age." He said, not minding the fact that he was disrespecting the stepmother, who was shaking with anger at that point._

"_You can't take her with you unless she agrees to go with you, your highness." Was the reply he had gotten from the stepmother who had a smirk on, thinking that Ryoma would stay with her than go with the prince who had just barged in to the house unannounced with plans to take away her servant._

_Ryoma looked back and forth between her stepmother and the royal group, having a hard time deciding which set of consequences would be worse. Losing the love of her life or having her stepmother pull some strings to humiliate her in front of the prince._

"_I choose to…" Ryoma trailed off, leaving two people listening to her every word. All of a sudden, the two brothers came down the stairs. _

"_Go with the prince Ryoma." Syuusuke encouraged her, knowing exactly what her feelings for the prince were as he had witnessed them last night when the duo were enjoying their dance together immensely. _

"_We are very much capable of leaving our mother on her own considering that we have our own money to live off of." Added Kunimitsu, seeing the look on the girl's face, he had also witnessed the feelings between the two._

"_I choose the prince." Was Ryoma's final answer as she looked at the prince, trying to figure out if she had made the right choice. He gave her a reassuring smile in return to her doubtful look. The guards saw this exchange and were happy for the couple, because it was very clear to them that this was going to be a happy ending._

"_You aren't allowed to leave me! You're my servant!" Shrieked the stepmother, clearly not please with the outcome. She had thought that Ryoma didn't trust the stranger enough. An idea popped into her head. The prince wasn't aware of who Ryoma exactly was._

Ryoma was brought out of her thoughts by her husband who was now staring at her weirdly. Then she realized that she had probably seemed like a lifeless doll to him, which he would actually compare her to. She smiled at him, trying her best to reassure her husband before he started to question her.

He shook his head and untangled himself from her, and then he got out of bed. He grabbed his robe, which he threw on the floor to join Ryoma in bed, and tied it around himself. He stared at her for about a minute and then walked out into the balcony.

Ryoma sighed and got out of bed, not bothering to find a robe, considering that she was clad in pajamas. She walked out and went towards him. She then proceeded to wrap her arms around his waist, leaning against his back. This caused him to turn her around and wrap his arms around her small form.

"Why are ignoring me so much?" He questioned her, running his fingers through her emerald-black hair, admiring its unusual color and softness.

"I don't mean to ignore you; it's just that I've been thinking about a lot of stuff lately." She responded in a soft voice. She encouraged his hand with tiny gestures from herself, which made him chuckle.

"Well, why did you space out while I kissed you? Last time I checked, that was the kind of stuff I was good at." He smirked at her reddening face. She mumbled something into his chest, confusing the prince as he couldn't tell exactly what she had said.

"If you're going to act like a pet I might as well treat you like one. What do you think Ryo-chan?" He added the pet name to emphasize his point. She pulled away a bit to life her head up and gave him a death glare, showing him how much she hated the name he had bestowed upon her that fateful morning.

"Now, what were you saying?" He asked, now seeing that she was willing to cooperate with him. She looked at him with an adorable pout, using her last resort as a way to getting out of the mess she put herself into. He looked at her sternly, feeling much like he was dealing with a small child instead of his wife.

"Ryoma, what did you say?" He demanded, not really liking about having to do this with her, it wasn't as if she had done anything wrong; it's just that he wanted to know what she had to say, and it could possibly be why she had been spacing out as often lately.

"I said that I was going over what had happened to me. I was moved from my natural environment and now I'm stuck in a castle with people following me and actually noticing me. I also have you now, and I'm not used to that yet, as you have noticed." Ryoma explained, looking at her husband. He hugged her tighter, as if she was a teddy bear. He smiled as she cried out in surprise, meaning that she was still with him.

"It's okay Ryo-chan." He assured her, but one question still nagged at him.

"But Ryoma, why do you space out when I do show affection for you?" He asked her, summing up everything to that one word. Ryoma sighed, and then smacked her husband upside the head.

"I get lost in my thoughts when you do stuff that bring back memories for me. One would think that you had common sense if you had escaped kidnappers more than once on a daily basis." Ryoma rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

"But do you remember what happened when I finally found you?" He inquired as she leaned against him, enjoying the cool morning breeze.

"I'm sure I do, but do you?" She teased him. He nuzzled into her neck as a response. He muttered something that resembled 'Little brat.' Ryoma heard that and scowled, which really looked like a pout. Her husband looked up at her face and laughed, which made her turn red. Ryoma then remembered what happened after she had chosen who she wanted to be with.

_Ryoma looked at her stepmother with fear, wondering what she planned to do in order to keep her servant. She was going to find out soon if her stepmother continued on with the way she was going. _

"_Your Highness, do you know of what status Ryoma is? She means nothing!" Her stepmother tried to get the prince to ignore his favor of Ryoma and that way, she wasn't to be left with nothing. _

_His mother didn't deserve to be left with nothing, thought Syuusuke. _

'_Didn't we do enough for you Ryoma?' He said to himself. He looked between his mother and his servant, trying to figure out what he should do next._

"_I don't really care nor do I mind what Ryoma's status is, as long as I have her." The prince said, smiling. He then looked to Ryoma, whose face was absolutely frightened. He only had to take one look at her and laughed._

"_What do you have to laugh about, Your Highness?" Questioned Ryoma, who now looked ticked off by the prince. When he saw that, he lifted her up bridal style and walked out of the house, ignoring the angry shouts behind him. He had found his bride, and that was all he cared about at the moment._

"Ryoma, are you still here my princess?" Her prince asked her as he held her a bit far away so that he could look at her face more clearly. Ryoma looked at him then smiled serenely, looking much like her fairy godfather when he was happy with something that occurred.

"Yeah, I'm just fine. Is there anything else you want Prince Jirou of Hyotei?" Ryoma inquired as she hugged him tightly around the waist. He smirked, suddenly remembering what he meant to say to her earlier, except she blanked out after that.

"Well, you could either stay here or you could follow me back to bed my dear." Jirou said to her, almost ready to laugh at seeing her face.

'She blushes so easily' He thought, as stared down at the fragile woman in his arms. She might not think it, but there are many things that could break her quite easily. Ryoma broke him out of his thoughts as she pulled him down to her.

"Enough thoughts for one morning, Jirou-kun" She whispered softly into his ear. She then crashed her lips onto his, making him smile automatically because that was the first kiss she had ever initiated, and sure as hell it wasn't going to be the last if he was going to be her husband.


End file.
